Where In The World Is Santa Claus
by REIDFANATIC
Summary: Santa has gone missing on Christmas Eve and the BAU is tasked with finding him.
1. Chapter 1

Everyone was shaking their heads. What could have happened? The president was alerted at shortly after 2pm on Christmas Eve that Santa had not arrived in Samoa, his usual first stop in his trip around the world. The Samoans had been worried, of course, but panic began to set in when an hour later he hadn't arrived in New Zealand either. President Obama quickly called NORAD whose job it was to monitor Santa's movements. Of course, the staff at NORAD were not expecting the jolly man for many hours and were not yet on the lookout for him. "Well start looking," he commanded as he slammed down the phone. He picked it up again quickly, "Get me the CIA, get me NSA, Interpol, get everybody," he snapped.

He began to pace the oval office. This may be his biggest crisis yet. All the children in the world… he just couldn't contemplate it. He knew airliners went missing over some airspaces but every airspace was friendly airspace for Santa. His phone rang. "What," he shouted into the receiver.

"Barrack, I just heard about Santa." His wife's voice said in his ear.

"Michelle, how did you hear about it?"

"Things get around. Is it true?"

"Yes, I'm afraid no one knows what's happened to Santa. I've called everyone in on it." He sighed.

"Anything I can do?" Michelle asked.

"Pray," he said before replacing the receiver.

cmcmcmcmcmcmcmcmcmcm

"We've got everyone looking for him sir," said Ryan James from the CIA.

"No chatter so far," Ruth Grimes from the NSA reported.

Obama nodded, "Anything from your end Agent Prentiss," he looked at the dark haired woman on the screen.

"Nothing so far sir; my agents all over the world have their ear to the ground but nothing so far. I'll let you know the moment I hear anything."

"Thank you Agent," the president replied as the screen from London went blank. "Okay, everybody, I know we want to be home with our families but this is top priority so nobody concentrates on anything else until we find Santa." The others in the room stood and headed for the door almost bumping into a man trying to enter the office.

"You can't go in there without an invitation from the president," one of the Secret Service men pushed the man back. "Sorry Senator."

"Of course, I understand. I just wanted to speak to the president about something important."

The president's secretary went into the office and came out with a stern look. "He'll give you two minutes."

"That's all I need," the senator walked past the Secret Service man and into the oval office.

"Senator Cramer," the president began, "This better be good."

"It is. I heard about Santa. I think I know who might be able to help."

cmcmcmcmcmcmcmcmcmcm

Hotch looked at the blinking lights on the tree as Dave and Jack threaded a popcorn string, managing to pop some in their mouths as they did. His phone buzzed. He pulled it from his pocket and frowned.

cmcmcmcmcmcmcmcmcmcm

The airport was absolute chaos. "I thought we were the tail end of those heading home for Christmas," Morgan told Reid. "I didn't think it would be this busy."

"The Saturday before Christmas is usually the busiest day for air travel," Reid babbled, "but is also known for having the highest fares. The fares actually lower the closer you get to the actual holiday and the holiday itself. So, considering, this is probably not the busiest d…" He stopped as both his and Morgan's phones rang.

"This can't be good," Morgan said as he and Reid pulled their phones from their pockets.

cmcmcmcmcmcmcmcmcmcm

Kate Callahan looked at her phone screen and then at her niece. "Sorry kiddo."

"No Kate, not on Christmas Eve," Meg pouted.

"I'll be home as quickly as I can my sweet girl." She pulled the teen into her arms and kissed her cheek turning to Chris and giving him a kiss before opening her closet and grabbing the always packed bag, "Merry Christmas."

Kate gave JJ a sad grin when she opened the passenger door of JJ's car. "So, how'd it go at your house?"

"Henry was heartbroken. It was all I could do to break away from him head in. You?"

"Meg wasn't happy but she's older than Henry so a little more understanding."

"I wonder if the guys were lucky enough to already be on their planes and out of here." JJ mused.

cmcmcmcmcmcmcmcmcm

They got their answer when they met up with Morgan and Reid at the elevator. "We were this close," Morgan kept his thumb and index finger a miniscule distance apart. "Couldn't the unsubs take one day off?"

"Considering the Christmas truce of 1914, it's possible," Reid noted, "but not probable."

The elevator opened on the sixth floor and the team stopped dead. Penelope Garcia stood before them in a red dress with a plunging square neckline and a wide black belt cinched just below the bust line. The flared skirt ended partway down her thigh and was trimmed with faux white fur. The long sleeves also ended at her wrists in the same white fur. Her oval eyeglasses, a vibrant red, matched the color of her lips. She wore black knee high boots and a Santa hat perched precariously on the top of her head completed the outfit.

Kate closed her eyes and then opened them quickly and shook her head, "I'm not even going to ask." She stated and headed into the BAU.

"The text said time was of the essence so I didn't think there was time to change." Garcia explained. "Believe me; I'm not wearing this for you guys."

Morgan put up a hand. "Okay, we're getting into too much information territory, say no more," he replied as he, too headed into the BAU, the others close behind.

Hotch stood at the screen when they entered the round table room while Rossi sat at the table a cup of coffee in hand, "Merry Christmas," he said raising his coffee cup in a toast.

Hotch gestured to the chairs. "I know nobody wants to be here but we're on the clock on this and it could turn into a real crisis very fast." Each team member took a seat noting there were no files sitting out as was the norm with each case.

"What's up Hotch?" Morgan asked, "Missing kid?"

"No," Hotch clicked the remote and a man in a Santa Suit with a white beard and wire glasses stared back at them. "Santa's missing."

"What do you mean, Santa's missing," JJ asked.

"Santa!" Kate said, "Okay, what kind of joke is this?"

"You don't believe in Santa?" Rossi sounded surprised.

"No," she looked around at the others, "And I do not believe in the tooth fairy, the great pumpkin or the boogieman."

"How can you work for the BAU and not believe in the boogieman?" Reid asked.

"This is a joke on the newbie right?"

"Nobody's laughing Callahan," Hotch noted.

"You cannot tell me you people believe in Santa."

"Well, Kate's got a point; technically, Santa Claus has never truly been seen," Reid said, "and eight or nine reindeer and a sleigh flying through the air is pretty unbelievable, as well as a man as large as Santa fitting down the chimney. I did the specs when I was four and figured it couldn't work."

"Reid, Santa is magic," Garcia offered. "You, of all people, should understand magic."

"Magic isn't magic Garcia. Magic is an illusion. You don't just make things appear out of thin air, it's just the illusion that you have."

"Okay," Morgan agreed, "so Santa uses illusion. He's got everybody looking up the chimney while he's pickin' the lock on the back door."

"But Reid, Santa is part of what Christmas is all about, faith. That faith had shepherds and wise men following a star to a stable to welcome the son of God. They didn't say WTF… are you talking about angel. They had faith. Maybe what we need here is a little faith."

"Enough," Hotch put a stop to the nattering. "Believe or not, kids all over the world are waiting for Santa and, like it or not, we've been tasked by the president himself with the job of profiling who would want to get rid of Santa."


	2. Chapter 2

"Is there any way to find out if something simply happened to Santa?" Morgan asked. "There might not even be any foul play involved. Let's face it; the guy's gettin' up there."

"Are you suggesting," Garcia began, "that Santa could be… dead? Santa doesn't die!" She replied emphatically.

"Okay, okay, I'm just sayin' he must be…" He turned toward Reid. "How old must he be Reid?"

"St. Nicholas, to whom the personality of Santa Claus refers, was a real person, a bishop in 4th century Myra, which is now Turkey. He anonymously gave a gift of three bags of gold to a poor man to use as dowries for his three daughters. His identity was discovered however and after that any anonymous gift of kindness was attributed to St. Nicholas. He was imprisoned for a few years because of his faith and, in that time, managed to convert many prisoners to Christianity. The more modern idea of Santa Claus was introduced to America by the Dutch settlers in New York. Anyway, that would make him around 1673 years old." Reid finally drew a breath.

"I rest my case," Morgan replied.

"Come one Morgan, if he was going to succumb to old age, he would have done it by now," JJ said.

Kate sat open mouthed. "Can you hear yourselves? Who lives to be more than 1600 years old?"

"Maybe it's the ghost of St. Nicholas," Reid remarked, "coming back once a year to remind us that he, in the form of the jolly man, is following Christ's command to help those in need."

"I definitely do not believe in ghosts."

"It doesn't really matter what we do and don't believe," Rossi stated, "we have a job to do so let's do it."

"Contact has been made with workers at a weather station and, since they're the closest, they have been pressed into service of going and checking out the North Pole." Hotch told them. "We should have word back shortly."

"What about satellites?" JJ asked. "Have there been any sightings on them?"

"No," Hotch told them, "and nothing on any radar systems."

"So, who would have it in for Santa?" Garcia asked.

Kate chuckled, "Maybe the elves revolted." Six heads turned and gave her a stern look. "Okay, sorry."

"Well, it's not likely to be anyone in commerce," JJ considered. "Santa is big business."

Garcia headed for the door. "Santa has a couple of email addresses. I'll try to wade through his emails and see if there's anything threatening but I can only imagine how many there are so it may take me a while."

"Good," Hotch said, "If you get too bogged down, get Lynch in to help you."

"Morgan and Reid, contact Ruth Grimes over at the NSA. They're monitoring chatter. Find out if they've found anything." The two men nodded and got to their feet and headed out.

"JJ, Rossi, talk to the people from the weather station. We need to know what they found there. If it's a crime scene, we'll need pictures." JJ nodded and she and Rossi headed for the door.

"Hotch," Kate said, "I was thinking of that child that was molested by that pedophile hired as a Santa."

Hotch nodded, "Go on."

"What if someone wanted revenge for what happened to that child?"

"The man who did that is in custody," Hotch said.

"I know, but all Santas represent one Santa. What if someone else was abused by a Santa and feels the way to get rid of pedophile Santas is to get rid of the 'real Santa?'" She made quotation marks with her fingers. "No more Santa, no more men dressing up in red and white so they can take advantage of young children."

Hotch picked up his phone. "Garcia, look into any incidences of a child being abused by a Santa. How is the email search going?"

"It's mind boggling sir, most of it is kids telling Santa what they want for Christmas. I'll do the abuser search. That list will likely be shorter and then get back to it." The phone went dead.

cmcmcmcmcmcmcmcm

Morgan and Reid had been passed from Ruth Grimes to Terry Webster who was manning his computer at the NSA. "We've been looking for any kind of chatter involving Santa and haven't come up with anything."

"Anything Christmas related at all," Morgan asked.

"There were a few communications that mentioned a stable but that is likely just for a nativity reenactment."

Morgan nodded.

"Maybe not," Reid said. "If you kidnapped Santa, you'd need a place to hold him."

"A stable," Morgan nodded. "Can you get us those communications anyway, just in case?"

cmcmcmcmcmcmcmcmcm

Rossi and JJ could hear the wind whipping around Jude Andrews as he gave them the news from the North Pole. "The sleigh is still here, loaded up with toys, but the old guy and the reindeer are nowhere in sight," he relayed to them holding his tablet in front of him while another shone a light into the darkness so they could see what he saw. "There are some big tracks here, snowshoes, I'd say." He continued to move his camera so Rossi and JJ got a view of the deep ruts.

"Any sign of a struggle?" Rossi asked, "Any blood or anything like that?"

"Nope, nothing like that. The place looks deserted. No elves, nothin'."

cmcmcmcmcmcmcmcmcm

"It seems like Santa was definitely taken," JJ said as she and Rossi returned to the conference room and related their conversation with Jude Andrews and passed around the pictures he'd sent.

"So whoever took him, took the reindeer and the elves too," Hotch mused. "What are they hoping to gain? There's been no claim of responsibility or any demand for ransom."

"So the unsub wants to remain unknown and is doing it for a reason other than monetary." Kate surmised, "Fits the abuse angle."

"Yeah, but then why take the reindeer?" Rossi asked.

"We couldn't get much from the NSA," Morgan said as he and Reid walked into the conference room. "The only chatter really Christmas related had to do with a stable. I thought it was to do with a nativity reenactment but pretty boy thought it may just be a place to stash Santa but, if we heard you right, the reindeer are gone too. Maybe it's a place to stash them."

"So what do we do now?" Reid asked. "How do we find the stable in time to save Santa, if it's not too late already? We don't know how long the unsub's had him."

"Social networking," Garcia said from the doorway. All heads turned in her direction. "Usually you guys would have a press conference and say be on the lookout for whatever. Only this time we don't even know where people should be on the lookout for what and a press conference will only cause panic. If we tweet what we're looking for it'll go everywhere and everyone will be on the lookout. We have to do something. I've got Kevin in but even with the two of us, you have no idea how massive Santa's email is. Somebody somewhere will know something."

"But to tell people on Christmas eve to be on the lookout for a guy in a red and white suit…" Kate left her thought unfinished.

"You're right; we'd likely get a ton of crank sightings," Hotch replied He should talk to the president about this he thought as he closed his eyes pinched his nose feeling a headache coming on. He opened them and looked at the team. "Let's do it."


	3. Chapter 3

Reid stood in front of the white board. "This is impossible guys," he said at last.

"What do you mean Reid?" Hotch asked.

"The guys from the weather station said the sleigh was still there, loaded and ready to go, so somebody got to Santa before he could take off."

"Yeah, so," Kate replied.

"It's perpetual night up there now," Reid reminded them. "You don't just drive up to the North Pole and say 'surprise.' There are no roads. You get there by helicopters and sleds pulled by dogs, and no one is apt to know the terrain up there, especially in the dark."

"Reid's right," Morgan agreed.

"So what you're saying is if someone took Santa, they haven't taken him far?" Hotch confirmed.

"They couldn't Hotch. I mean even if they got a helicopter in there in the dark and took Santa; there's no way they could get all the reindeer out of there."

"Maybe they flew out," JJ suggested.

"No sightings, remember," Rossi said.

"Why wouldn't they just wait until Santa reached a warmer climate or simply fly in with a helicopter and take him. Why take the reindeer at all?" Kate asked.

"Yeah," Morgan agreed. "It would be a lot easier without the reindeer."

"It would be a lot easier," Reid agreed with a faraway look.

"I can see the wheels turning; don't hold back." Rossi said.

"Why take the reindeer when they'd only be a hindrance? Maybe that's it. Maybe it's not about Santa, maybe it's about the reindeer."

"What would the reindeer have to do with anything?" Kate asked as Garcia burst into the room

"You may be right genius boy. There were some tweets about some plot by a group called SAFEE."

"What's that?" Morgan asked.

"They're a fringe group of animal activists." Reid began. "SAFEE stands for Society for Animal Freedom from Enslavement and Experimentation. They are totally against any use of animals for work or experimentation, even such things as police or seeing eye dogs."

"They posted something about the reindeer and kidnapping them but nobody took them seriously," Garcia told them.

"Why would they?" Kate remarked. "I mean really, how many people actually take Santa seriously?"

"And what better way to make a point than to take the reindeer on Christmas Eve and hold Christmas hostage." Hotch replied. "And, if that's the case, a lot more planning has gone into this than we thought.

"We need to get a bird in the air," Rossi said, "and do a sweep of the area. There can't be much out there."

"What do we do if they see something?" JJ asked. "Whose jurisdiction is the North Pole?"

"Nobody's," Reid replied. "The North Pole does not belong to any one country. It's nearest to Canada, Russia and Greenland but none of them have any jurisdiction over the area."

Morgan considered this for a moment. "Perhaps we can contact Emily and through Interpol she can help put together a joint task force between us, the Canadians and the Greenlanders."

"That's an idea but it'll take too long. I wonder if we might have more luck if I call the president. He can contact the base at Fort Richardson in Alaska and perhaps set up something with the Canadians and Greenlanders better than we can." He strode quickly from the room.

"What about Russia?" Kate asked.

"I think we should leave Putin out of this." Rossi remarked. "That guy does not play nice."

"The Canadians are definitely the closest." Reid went to a map he'd tacked to the white board. "There's a weather station here." He pointed to a mark on the map, "At a place called Alert and likely where the guys who went to Santa's place came from. It's the northernmost permanently occupied place in the world. It's also a military installation since it's closer to Moscow than it is to Ottawa, it was established for intercepting signals from Russia so it would be equipped to handle something like this. It is equipped with a runway. There have also been quite a few plane crashes there. Inclement weather, treacherous territory and the polar night all combine to make it difficult on fliers. That's why whoever took Santa, couldn't have taken him far. It's just not possible."

Hotch returned, "The president is going to speak to Prime Minister Harper and see if we can get something together. The servicemen at the base in Alert know the area better than anyone and are used to the dark. Hopefully we'll be able to get their assistance."

The team watched the clock as JJ thought of Henry sitting at home waiting for Santa to put in an appearance. The anger began to build in her face. Could people not leave children with this one thing?"

cmamcmcmcmcmcmcmcm

The wind had died down somewhat since Jude Andrews had reported to the team which would make the trip easier. Second Lieutenant Len Briggs and Private Dennis Hobbs boarded one helicopter while Captain Les Hughes and Corporal Dwayne Chalmers boarded the other and headed north.

Their search lights panned Santa's compound, the loaded sleigh clearly visible but no sign of life. Captain Hughes spoke into his headset, "We'll go southeast, you go southwest and keep your eyes peeled for anything.

"Roger Captain," 2nd Lieutenant Briggs replied as he headed southwest. After a short while he said to Chalmers, "What's that Corporal?"

Chalmers got the binoculars and looked below where his superior officer had pointed. "It looks like an igloo sir, a big one."

"An igloo; there isn't anyone living around here. Captain Hughes," he said into his headset. "We might have something."

cmcmcmcmcmcmcmcmcm

Garcia hurried into the conference room with a tray of eggnog. "Have I missed anything? Have we heard anything?" She asked anxiously.

"No, nothing yet," Rossi replied taking a cup of the milky drink from her, "Thanks."

"Hotch's cell buzzed and he answered quickly. "Yes Mr. President, that's wonderful." He smiled at the team who beamed in unison with hugs and slaps to the back. "Hotch held up his finger," We certainly will sir, thank you and Merry Christmas to you as well." He returned his phone to his pocket and motioned to the computer with his finger. "Garcia, can you get this thing on Skype?"

"Yes sir," the tech grabbed the remote and started pushing buttons. The screen came to life with Santa Claus in his red and white outfit flanked by a Captain and 2nd Lieutenant. All three were beaming.

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God," Garcia kept squealing as she gazed at them.

"Ho, ho, ho," said the jolly man, his grey hair and beard just as if he had jumped out of _A Night Before Christmas, _"Greetings from the North Pole. These fine men," he indicated the two army officers tell me I have you folks to thank for rescuing me from the clutches of those misguided people."

"It was our pleasure to come to your aid sir." Hotch replied. "I'd like to introduce my team…"

"No need Aaron; I haven't forgotten you. I haven't forgotten any of you." His eyes twinkled as they shifted a little. "David, it's so good to see you again and you too Derek, Kate, Jennifer and oh sweet Penelope."

Reid found his smile fading as Santa mentioned everyone else but him. "Oh Spencer, you didn't think I'd forgotten you did you. You stopped going to the mall to see Santa much earlier than most children. Why did you stop believing?"

"I… I just did the calculations and…" Reid stammered.

"Oh bah humbug on calculations, this from the little boy who, above all, one year wanted a magic set."

Reid's eyes seemed to grow to twice their size. "Magic is a bunch of tricks and illusions, everybody knows that." Reid said as he could feel everyone's eyes on him.

"Nonsense," Santa replied, "Magic can do almost anything the believer thinks it can. Do reindeer fly? Mine do because they believe. They don't calculate and measure, they believe in their hearts. You need to learn to listen to your heart over your mind; let that magic in. Christmas is a magical season, the birth of the Christ child was more magical than anything that has come before or after it."

His eyes shifted from Reid to the group. These men have taken custody of the misguided individuals who wanted to ruin Christmas. They didn't succeed and that's thanks to you all. "You all have a Merry Christmas and believe in the magic." He turned and got into a huge sleigh loaded with toys. Nine reindeer were reined together for the trip. "Rudolf," he called out, "Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen, let's go boys." And with a flick of the reins the deer suddenly rose to the sky, the mouths of the BAU team dropping as they ascended toward the heavens. "Ho, Ho, Ho."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Last chapter everyone. Thanks to all those who read and reviewed. Much appreciated. **

**Epilogue**

"Hurry up Reid," Morgan said as they hustled through the airport concourse to the United Airlines service desk. The line was short, only three people ahead of them, one a mother, he presumed holding a sleeping toddler and a child about five, Morgan thought, jumping up and down continually wondering how Santa would know they were having Christmas at Grandma's in Galveston.

"Santa knows Jeremy; now settle down," his mother reassured him.

"But how?" the boy continued.

"Hey little man," Morgan crouched down. "I actually know Santa's email address. If you want I can send him an email and tell him you'll be at your grandma's and you won't have to worry."

"Really," the boy's eyes grew large.

"Uh huh, just let me get my phone out here. Okay, sending an email to Santa. Jeremy," he moved his thumbs on his phone, "is spending Christmas at his Grandma's in Galveston."

"Jeremy Tanner," the boy corrected him. "I'm five." He held up one hand. "And we're gonna be at Grandma Woodley's. Make sure you say Grandma Woodley so he won't go to Grandma Tanner's"

"Okay," Morgan moved his thumbs some more. "Santa has the message that you will be at Grandma Woodley's."

His mother mouthed the words, "Thank you," as the woman at the desk called for the next in line.

When Morgan reached the desk and, with the usual Morgan charm, he explained about Reid and him being called away from their previous flights and were there any flights she could get them on. Her fingers ran over the computer keys. "There's a flight to Chicago in an hour that has a seat if you don't mind a 41 minute stop in Philadelphia."

"Fine with me," Morgan said and proceeded to get his ticket, "Anything for my friend here?"

"Las Vegas," she tapped the keys once more. "Sorry, our last flight out is full."

"That's okay," Reid nodded, "Thanks anyway and Merry Christmas." He turned to Morgan. "At least you'll get home to see your mom and sisters.

"Sorry, pretty boy, maybe you can get one tomorrow." Morgan replied turning his head at the sound of his name.

"Mr. Morgan," the girl from the United desk called and waved. "I did a wider search for your friend and it just so happens that there's a flight to Las Vegas out of Philadelphia in three hours that has a seat. There's still a seat on the Chicago flight, so if he doesn't mind a roundabout trip to Las Vegas via Philadelphia we can get both of you home tonight.

Morgan and Reid turned to each other and smiled.

cmcmcmcmcmcmcmcm

Kate heard a squeal from the living room as she poured a cup of coffee for Chris and herself. They carried their cups into the living room where a beaming Meg had begun opening her gifts.

"It's fantastic. It's the most wonderful thing. I wanted one so badly." Meg jumped up and down as she spoke. "How did you know? I didn't tell you because I thought it was too much."

Chris and Kate looked at one another and shook their heads. "What are you talking about Honey?" Kate asked.

"The Pandora bracelet," she held out her arm so Kate could see the bracelet on her wrist sporting only one charm at the moment. "And look at the charm Kate. It's like you to pick something like that."

"Like what, what charm is it?"

"It's the abundance of love charm. I love it. Thank you so much." She ran and hugged her aunt almost spilling the coffee Kate still managed to hold onto.

"Did you do this," she mouthed to Chris who shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.

He bent down and picked up the box. "It says it's from Santa."

"Yeah, but I know it's from you guys. I mean I don't believe in Santa anymore." She turned from Kate to hug Chris.

"Maybe you should." Kate looked at the fireplace and then at the 'abundance of love' charm on the bracelet. "Maybe we all should. Maybe we should all believe just a little bit longer."

cmcmcmcmcmcmcmcm

"Jimmy," Dave said as he opened his front door and gave his old friend a hug. "Glad you could come for breakfast."

"I think I'm partly still in shock at the invitation. I hadn't seen you at midnight mass in a long time." Jimmy replied as he took his coat off.

"I know, I was reminded yesterday that Christmas is the celebration of the greatest gift ever given and I just had to go." Dave waved the priest toward the kitchen where the smell of brewed coffee and sizzling bacon wafted through the air and made his mouth water.

"I forget what a good cook you are." Jimmy took a seat on one of the stools by the island. "Now, you're still on for serving at the soup kitchen this afternoon, right?" He took a sip of the hot coffee.

"I'll be there and I'm bringing a couple of friends."

cmcmcmcmcmcmcmcm

"He sure likes those video games," Will said as he and JJ watched Henry engrossed in the new games he'd gotten for Christmas. "I thought we'd gotten everything we were getting for him."

"We did." JJ agreed.

"So, that says it's from Santa, and I didn't put it there." He whispered.

"Me either," JJ admitted. "It was likely Garcia; you know how she likes to spoil him. I'm going to clean up this paper if you want to put the coffee on and start breakfast."

"Sure," he gave her a quick kiss and headed for the kitchen.

cmcmcmcmcmcmcmcm

"Merry Christmas," Garcia whispered in Steve's ear.

"Merry Christmas yourself," he replied groggily.

"Don't you want to get up and find out what I got you for Christmas?"

Steve chuckled at Penelope dressed in nothing more than a Santa hat. "I thought I already did Miss Santa."

"That's just the beginning. Get up, busy day ahead." She threw on a robe. "We have to open our presents, get to the soup kitchen to help Rossi and then Christmas dinner at JJ's.

Garcia's phone rang. "Hello, Merry Christmas." Steve heard her say. "Video games, nope it wasn't me, maybe Reid. Okay, see you later."

JJ began picking up the paper they'd strewn about in their excitement to find out what was inside all the decorated boxes. She'd put the last piece in her garbage bag and she noticed something on her hand from the carpet. She crouched down to study the spot. She rubbed it again with her fingers. Was that soot?

cmcmcmcmcmcmcmcm

"Daddy, can I ask you something?" Jack said after the pair had finished opening their gifts.

"Of course Jack, you can ask me anything. You know that." Hotch replied.

"Some of the kids at school say that Santa isn't real. They say the presents you get from Santa aren't from him but from your mommy and daddy."

"Yes, Jack, Santa is definitely real."

"But everybody said that the Santa's at the mall just dress up like Santa and they aren't really him." Jack persisted.

"And they're right. Santa can't be everywhere at once but, he does exist. The important thing is that you have to believe. Not everything in this world can be seen and felt. Sometimes it just has to be taken on faith. And that's what Christmas is all about, faith. It's about faith in a jolly man in a red suit who gives gifts one day a year. When Santa gives gifts to little children, we're reminded of the wise men who brought gifts to little Jesus. It's about faith that the birth of Jesus was God's gift to us, His children and if we believe in Him, we will someday go to Heaven. Not everything can be seen with our eyes. Sometimes believing is enough."

The End

_**To all my FanFiction readers, please let me take the opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and all the best in the New Year. May the magic of the season surround you and the spirit of the season stay with you long after the bright gifts are opened and the glowing trees are down. May God bless you all today as He blessed us long ago with His newborn Son.**_


End file.
